Cladding Bill passed

THE buck will stop with manufacturers, importers and installers under a new Bill passed this week to crack down on flammable cladding that could be lurking in dozens of Gold Coast high-rises.

Following a series of fires worldwide thought to have involved flammable, nonconforming aluminium cladding – including the Lacrosse Tower blaze in Melbourne’s Docklands – Minister Mick de Brenni this year ordered an audit into Queensland buildings constructed between 1994 and 2004.

Mr de Brenni yesterday said a new Bill passed this week would give the Queensland Building and Construction Commission more powers to hold suppliers of the products to account.

“Importantly for the Gold Coast, these laws provide pro- tection that will reach across the border into NSW,” he said.

“In fact, no matter where these products come from, and no matter where the businesses making or selling or installing them is based, if there is an attempt to bring a nonconforming product into Queensland, those products and people are captured by these laws.

“If someone brings dodgy cladding or wiring over the border from NSW the QBCC will have the power to take strong action against them.”

Shadow Minister for Public Works Stephen Bennett said the Opposition agreed something needed to be done about the cladding issue but said his party would have handled the Bill differently.

“This legislation is important and that’s why I was happy to work with the Minister on amendments so we could see a smooth progression of this legislation,” he said.

“We do need to start to deal with what is an increasing problem of imported nonconforming building products.

“(But) I think we are going to make the QBCC overstretch … and of course the funding, how much it’s going to cost.”

Mr Bennet said he also thought the Government should have given more consideration to using technology to track building products within Australia’s borders to better regulate the industry.